Abstract:
The adsorption behavior of n-pentane and cyclohexane in mica slits at room temperature has been studied as a function of chemical potential and gap width with multiple-beam interferometry. The measured film thicknesses close to saturation for large slit widths (effectively isolated surfaces) range up to 7 nm with n-pentane (at a relative vapor pressure of 0.9996) and 3 nm with cyclohexane (at a relative vapor pressure of 0.995). The thickness of these adsorbed wetting films is slightly larger than that predicted by van der Waals theory. The difference may be accounted for by thermal fluctuations of the adsorbed liquid-vapor interface. At smaller slit widths a capillary condensation transition occurs as the slit fills up with liquid. The separation at which this occurs is in good agreement with a film-thickening mechanism due to van der Waals forces across the gap only for the thickest films (t ≥ 6 nm). For thinner films the capillary condensation transition occurs at larger than expected slit widths, and the deviations are large for t ≤ 3 nm. We speculate that these larger-than-expected condensation separations are related to a fluctuation-enhanced film thickness in this regime. The work demonstrates the utility of measurements in a system consisting of a single slit-pore, without the complications of polydispersity and connectivity of pore networks. The results show that vapor adsorption isotherms can be measured with multiple-beam interferometry, i.e., in the surface force apparatus.
Abstract:
The linear Poisson-Boltzmann equation is solved with a variable dielectric constant to account for dielectric saturation. Two different spatially dependent forms of the dielectric constant are compared. It is shown that the electrostatic repulsion between two flat plates is decreased by dielectric saturation and that it depends in a complicated way on both the dielectric constant and the electric field. © 1992.
The surface forces apparatus technique and the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts theory were used to study the elastic properties of an n-octadecyltriethoxysilane self-assembled monolayer (OTE-SAM) on both untreated and plasma-treated mica. Our aim was to measure the thickness compressibilities of OTE monolayers on untreated and plasma-treated mica and to estimate their surface densities and phase-states from the film compressibility. The compressibility moduli of OTE are (0.96 +/- 0.02) x 10(8) N/m(2) on untreated mica and (1.24 +/- 0.06) x 10(8) N/m(2) on plasma-treated mica. This work suggests that the OTE phase-state is pseudocrystalline. In addition, the results from the compressibility measurements in water vapor suggest that the OTE-SAM on both untreated and plasma-treated mica is not homogeneous but rather contains both crystalline polymerized OTE domains and somewhat hydrophilic gaseous regions.
Abstract:
The nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation is solved variationally to obtain the electrostatic potential profile in a spherical cavity containing an aqueous electrolyte solution. The variational solution is based on the linear solution to the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. It is found that a three-parameter trial function provides sufficient accuracy to make the variational potential profile indistinguishable from exact numerical results. The variational solution is valid over the concentration, size, and surface potential ranges typical of phospholipid vesicles. It is anticipated that this solution will be useful in determining the stability of membraneous vesicles and reverse micelles. © 1991.
Evaporative deposition from a sessile drop is a simple and appealing way to deposit materials on a surface. In this work, we deposit living, motile colloidal particles (bacteria) on mica from drops of aqueous solution. We show for the first time that it is possible to produce a continuous variation in the deposition pattern from ring deposits to cellular pattern deposits by incremental changes in surface wettability which we achieve by timed exposure of the mica surface to the atmosphere. We show that it is possible to change the contact angle of the drop from less than 5 degrees to near 20 degrees by choice of atmospheric exposure time. This controls the extent of drop spreading, which in turn determines the architecture of the deposition pattern.
